> If it's anything like the V1 you can hold down the F1 button with the unit
> switched off, and then insert the mains charger jack, the unit will then
> turn itself on and will boot straight into archos original firmware (due
> to
> the F1 key being held down). This will charge the battery without trying
> to
> spin up the drive, which obviously the battery cannot do when it's totally
> flat.

Is the box flashed with Rockbox? Only then the above applies. If it's like
fresh from the shop, this "feature" always exists.